If you notice almost every legit prospect we get is on a rush course to the majors. Beckham, Jor. Danks, sale, dayan, poreda, hudson to name them off the top of my head. No development time at all.

????

I don't agree with this at all. Beckham and Hudson earned their way to the majors. Poreda spent significant time in the minors working his way up, Danks hasn't even made his way to the majors yet and Viciedo spent a year and a half in the minors plus his time playing with major league talent in Cuba. Sale doesn't seem to be having any problems rising up either.

This "rushing" argument that people like to pull out of their derriere is getting tiresome. Every prospect is different and they progress at their own rate.

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I don't agree with this at all. Beckham and Hudson earned their way to the majors. Poreda spent significant time in the minors working his way up, Danks hasn't even made his way to the majors yet and Viciedo spent a year and a half in the minors plus his time playing with major league talent in Cuba. Sale doesn't seem to be having any problems rising up either.

This "rushing" argument that people like to pull out of their derriere is getting tiresome. Every prospect is different and they progress at their own rate.

I disagree. Danks has clearly been rushed, and Viciedo's time in Cuba against "major league talent" (your phrasing, certainly not mine) shouldn't count. He was below average in AA and showed serious weaknesses in AAA.

I disagree. Danks has clearly been rushed, and Viciedo's time in Cuba against "major league talent" (your phrasing, certainly not mine) shouldn't count. He was below average in AA and showed serious weaknesses in AAA.

What makes you think Danks has been rushed? He was clearly too advanced for A+ last year and was tearing up AA until he came down with some wrist issues. He also raked in the AFL, I see nothing to suggest that he should have been in AA in 2010, unless you are of the belief that his strikeout rate was too high to advance?

The Cuban leagues are full of players that could play in the majors, granted there are also guys that would struggle in A ball, but Viciedo saw some talented players coming through there.

What makes you think Danks has been rushed? He was clearly too advanced for A+ last year and was tearing up AA until he came down with some wrist issues. He also raked in the AFL, I see nothing to suggest that he should have been in AA in 2010, unless you are of the belief that his strikeout rate was too high to advance?

The Cuban leagues are full of players that could play in the majors, granted there are also guys that would struggle in A ball, but Viciedo saw some talented players coming through there.

Too high a strikeout rate, certainly, and given the way he finished in AA, I definitely think a month or two in the Southern League would have been beneficial.

First round wise, yes, the Sox stopped doing that after McCulloch pick (Poreda pick is a borderline average pick but at least he threw hard) but the overall draft wise, no, they are still drafting marginal college starters. Just look at the top guys in our farm ranking - most of them are pitchers drafted out of college in lower rounds.

Quote:

Originally Posted by rdivaldi

I'm believe that his finish in AA was more due to injury than anything else. His AFL showing was pretty impressive.

Yeah, he cooled off a lot after that injury so I suspect he may not be perfectly healthy right now. I'm willing to cut him some slack for this year. If he were healthy, it would be very alarming because he's not walking or hitting but still striking out a ton. I think the Sox should completely fix his swing to be compact so that he can be make more contact. It's clear he can't hit for power, so we should just give up on him ever developing into a toolsy hitter. I'd settle for a Brett Gardner with him.

Oh and AFL stats are to be taken with a grain of salt. It's widely accepted that AFL favours the hitters HEAVILY.

We have drafted the last 2 years Dave Holmberg, Mark Heidenreich, and this year Matthew Grimes out of H.S. We need to keep on drafting more H.S arms with potential. Chris Sale was Junior College pitcher and is 21 years old. Williams and Laumann need to use this strategy more often in future drafts. We haven't spent any money the last 2-3 years years in the International signings, other than Juan Silverio and that hasn't worked out. We need to put an extra $3-5 million on the draft and international signings. If that means we have to take $5 million off the regular roster, I'm all for it. Look what an extra $5 million is doing for the farm clubs of Tampay Bay, Oakland,Pittsburgh, Kansas City, and Boston. They have some of the best farm systems because of it and they will save money in the long run by not going after free agents or making trades with high salaries.